Inn From The Cold provides respite for those with nowhere else to go

By Ian Benjamin

Sunday, January 6, 2013

TROY -- On a cold night in early January, 10 men were making their way down the city sidewalks towards one destination: Christ Church United Methodist on the corner of State Street and Fifth Avenue. They did not intend to worship, nor partake in activities more organized than pleasure reading and crossword puzzles. Instead, their intent was to find some sleep.

Inside the church's multipurpose gathering room -- which provides space for the Sunday school, dinners, and a yoga class every Monday and Thursday night -- the men found a roof and warmth through Inn From The Cold, a winter overflow program organized by the city-based not-for-profit Joseph's House & Shelter, Inc. in collaboration with downtown churches.

The sounds of sleeping men could be heard each night, but Jan. 7, the church will again be empty each night, as the men will have moved on to another local downtown church.

Some of the men have steady jobs, and are saving for an apartment, others are looking to make a living wage, but all of them, regardless of how they spend each day, are stable -- and it is for that reason they were accepted into the program.

While Joseph's House -- like most shelters in the region -- is much busier in the summer months, the need to house single people is much more urgent in the winter.

"People freeze to death in the northeast," said Tracy Neitzel, executive director of Joseph's House, now in their 30th year of operation.

"It is much easier to turn away a family than it is to turn away a single person in the winter," the director explained, because the county will provide temporary housing for a family in a local motel.

"It's not as hard when we're full in the family shelter, but when we're full in the single shelter, it doesn't feel good, because we're turning away folks that other shelters won't take," she said. "They really have no where else to go -- we're the only shelter for single adults in Rensselaer County."

In the summer, the homeless can survive on the streets, in Prospect Park, or along the canal in South Troy, but in the winter most find a place to stay.

"People get themselves arrested so they can spend some time in jail instead of being out on the street," Neitzel said. "People double-up, people triple-up, people make strange deals."

Unfortunately, Joseph's House staff have seen a rise in winter homelessness. When this first began, in the winter of 2007-08, more than 300 were living out in the cold in Rensselaer County, some because there was no where else to go. In response, Joseph's House convened an emergency meeting with local church leaders culminating in the Inn From The Cold.

The program, now in its fourth year, has become an annual effort of the downtown churches.

"We have the space, they have the needs," said Alicia Todaro, deacon of St. John's Episcopal Church, another member of the coalition.

"Many of our congregation have trained to be volunteers for the night in our church and in other locations, as the men move from place to place," said Janet Douglass, assistant pastor at Christ Church. "In fact, two of our older members spent Christmas Day evening with the men."

That couple was Dorcas and Ken Rose, congregants of Christ Church, who have been volunteering with the program for three years.

"We try to stay busy," explained Dorcas, a sentiment echoed by her husband, a retired professor of electrical engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The couple have stayed with the men, along with a Joseph's House staff person, periodically since early December.

"It has led our congregation to become more aware of the issues of homelessness in Troy," Douglass said. "For so many of us, we're really only a paycheck or two away from being unhoused. A small problem can so easily escalate. People may first lose their car or job and then suddenly their house. So many people think that this just happens to somebody else, and then they hear the stories and say, 'Oh, that could be me.'"

One of the men preparing for the night was 58-year-old city native John O'Donnell. Despite decades of experience in cabinetry craft, work became inexplicably scarce several years ago, said O'Donnell. Unable to keep a steady paycheck he eventually lost his home and was left sleeping in his car for a year. A friend who saw his plight referred him to Joseph's House, and ultimately found himself on one of the Christ Church cots.

At Joseph's House, O'Donnell was set up with MDT, a temp agency, and has been working odd jobs -- but the pay has not been enough to cover housing.

"I've accepted that I'll never see $20 an hour again while I live," O'Donnell said. He attributes this to his inability to shift careers and trouble interfacing with computers.

For many, such problems are exacerbated by addictions and/or mental health problems.

"About half of our single guests have a pretty significant mental health diagnosis or an addiction, and a lot of them have both," Neitzel said.

O'Donnell, a voracious reader who spends his days in local libraries, was working on a Metroland crossword puzzle before dozing off, but he said he cannot escape thinking about finding work. Despite such hurdles, he still maintains hope: "It's not rock bottom, but it's only up from here."